Mercy cannot be earned, says Jill Segger. It is not a quid pro quo. It is pure gift and whenever we exercise it, we come closer to the Divine nature. The Ali al-Megrahi case makes us uncomfortable about this - and necessarily so.

German Lutheran Bishop Margot Kaessmann has urged the authorities in her coutry to enter into a dialogue with imprisoned members of the Red Army Faction terrorist group which operated in Germany from the 1970s - reports Ecumenical News International (ENI).